Into the Deeper Well
by mmooch
Summary: **Side story to 'Bunny, Buffy, What's the Difference'** Thousands of years ago, an Old One was trapped in the Deeper Well…almost.


**Into the Deeper Well**

Summary: **Side story to _'Bunny, Buffy, What's the Difference?'_** Thousands of years ago, an Old One was trapped in the Deeper Well…almost.

A/N: So I'm changing some canon…isn't that what fanfic is all about? I thought this chapter worked better apart from the main story. It's background for what's happening in chapters 40 & 41 of _B,B,WtD?_. **READ THAT FIRST!**

Warning: tiniest bit of gore, but this is about Old Ones, so that shouldn't be a surprise.

Thanks to my betas: none.

Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Thousands of years ago…**

The fight had been going on for days…possibly weeks or months. Both opponents were injured, but it was the God-King who was faring worse at the moment.

"Why do you insist on protecting the muck from your brothers and sisters?" Illyria cried out angrily at his sister. To beings such as them, humans were barely sentient. Therefore it made sense to call them muck – just like the humans would call single-celled organisms muck because those organisms were so far below humans.

"Because I see humanity as something more interesting than the constant fighting between our kind," Sineya replied coldly, hacking off another tentacle/arm which had tried to grab her. She didn't relish fighting her family, but any that went after those she protected – like Illyria did – had to be dealt with, and dealt with permanently.

Trying to even the odds, Illyria made another mistake, only to lose another limb. "They are just as violent with each other," he snarled. He could see his death coming and was not pleased. He wasn't certain his plans to ensure his resurrection were complete. He was double-checking on them when Sineya showed up to kill him.

"Sometimes, but they are also loving as well," Sineya answered with a smirk, knowing how her brother would respond to the idea of feelings.

Illyria proved her right; he was so predictable. His momentary shudder of disgust gave Sineya enough time to land another blow with her weapon. "Ugh, emotions…it makes my skin itch just to think about it," he groaned through the pain.

Sineya ducked the weakened punch and shot back, "Oh, be realistic, Illyria. We have emotions as well, and pretending like it is not true will not change that fact. I will continue to protect them from the others for as long as I draw breath…" She paused to swing her weapon at her foe's neck, separating Illyria's head from his body, then quipped, "…something you do not have anymore."

Then Sineya reached down and picked up the Primordial God-King's head for a trophy, destroying the rest of the body so Illyria's followers couldn't bring him back again. That was one of the most annoying facts about her people; if you didn't destroy the bodies in a certain way, they'd just keep coming back.

As she held her brother's head, she felt an odd sensation tugging on her, then everything went dark.

* * *

**At the entrance to the Deeper Well**

**At the same time…**

A group of human mystics were busy trying to trap a Putus Everto Filiolus* by the name of Illyria into a sarcophagus which would separate the essence from the body in order to trap the demon in the Deeper Well. If it worked, they could rid the world of all the demon gods…assuming the gods didn't figure out what they were doing and kill them.

Fortunately, there tended to be a lot of infighting among the gods, so it was possible that it could go undetected for quite some time.

By name and by blood, they designed each sarcophagus to hold a particular demon god. By name and by blood, they would call each demon god to its prison.

They couldn't know that at the exact same time Sineya was claiming her prize, the spell activated, dragging the only living being with Illyria's blood on it into the sarcophagus.

All the mystics knew was that the crystal clouded over, indicating there was an essence trapped in the sarcophagus. Another scrying for Illyria showed that he no longer lived, so they assumed it worked perfectly and moved the stone coffin into the Deeper Well for eternal holding…they hoped.

* * *

**Inside Illyria's sarcophagus**

For the first couple of years, Sineya attempted to figure out what had happened to her. This didn't seem like something one of the other Filioli would do, despite her outcast stance on humans. It wasn't upfront like they tended to be. That left lesser demons or humans – which would be ironic if it was the latter, considering she was on their side.

Whoever was responsible for her imprisonment didn't do a very thorough job, though. She was able to poke a tiny hole through one of the seals. After considering what to do for another year or so, Sineya decided to give the humans a fighting chance.

Gathering up all the strength she could, she forced open a wider gap and let part of her essence escape, along with her weapon, and sent it to the nearest female _willing_ to receive it. She hoped that her 'daughter' would continue to protect humanity from demons until she could get out of her prison. Her Qwa'ha Xahn and priestesses would have to serve as the girl's guardians now.

The effort exhausted Sineya, but every millennium or so, she would check on her current daughter and see how the fight was going. She worried at how fast the half-breed demons gained in number…until she saw that the humans grew even faster.

* * *

**Shortly thereafter…**

When the mystics who accidentally imprisoned Sineya discovered the girl who could fight demons with her deadly weapon, they conspired to control her and make her believe that she was a product of their intervention.

They called themselves the 'Shadowmen'.

By the time Sineya's followers found the girl, she was already under the men's control; she was trained to attack anyone who opposed them. So they watched from afar, waiting for the day when they could reclaim their goddess' daughter from the men who stole her. But their numbers fell while the Shadowmen's numbers grew and they became the Watchers Council. The best they managed was to take Sineya's weapon once all the Filioli were gone and hide it until it was _truly_ needed again.

They called themselves the 'Guardians'.

* * *

**Modern times…**

The last several years, Sineya was feeling a greater tug towards her 'daughter' and wondered what was going on. Then she felt a large part of her essence get sucked out of her prison. The feeling was similar to when she would use the magick in her weapon to create copies of herself in battle. _**Did that mean she had more daughters now?**_

Less than a year later, she felt the prison open entirely and was set free…into a human body. That was not good.

It didn't take long for Sineya to realize that this human couldn't handle the changes necessary, but it was a process she couldn't stop on her own. She needed her priestesses' help to save the human!

Suddenly, she found herself in a desert, facing three young women and a young man. "Which one of you is my Qwa'ha Xahn?" she inquired.

* * *

A/N: Now you have the story of how it was Sineya in Illyria's sarcophagus instead of the Primordial God-King. * Putus Everto Filiolus is Latin for Pure Demon Gods.


End file.
